Finally, the perfect shower curtain! Make your own with fat quarters

Picking a new shower curtain can be daunting. You might look for one that makes your bathroom appear bigger or lighter, or maybe one you can wash easily, with grommets to make sure it won’t tear. And if you find one with all of those specifications, you still have to find one with the right aesthetic. Using fat quarters, you can make your ideal shower curtain easily in a single afternoon.

As you decide on your fabric for this project, consider heavy-duty outdoor fabrics. They're made to stand up to the elements, so they can handle the steam and heat of a shower and still be washed. Pick quarters that are cohesive, and choose outdoor fabric that harmonizes with them.

Materials
- Measuring tape
- Cutting mat
- Ruler
- Rotary cutter
- Fat quarters
- 2 yards outdoor or waterproof fabric
- Straight pins
- Iron
- Serger (optional)
- Fabric marker
- Cardboard
- Embroidery scissors or thread snip (optional)
- Hammer
- Grommets

Instructions
1. Measure your shower curtain rod and note the length. This will be important for measuring out your fabric, especially the fat quarters.

2. Use the rotary cutter to trim the edges of your fabric for a clean line to work with. Most rotary cutters can handle a couple of fabric layers at a time. Fold your fabric a few times to create a shorter edge to cut.

3. With the edges cleanly trimmed, cut your fabric to the width of your shower curtain rod, adding 1 inch for seam allowance. Leave the length for now.

4. Cut a strip about 8 inches from the top edge of the fabric and set this aside.

5. Divide the width of your shower curtain by the number of fat quarters you’d like to add.

6. Measure 4-inch-wide strips of your fat quarters, adding 1 inch for seam allowance. Lay your strips out flat. Cut the strips to the appropriate length according to how many fat quarter blocks you would like for your curtain. We trimmed our fat quarter strips to be about 10 inches long.

Tip: If the length of the shower curtain rod is an easily divisible number, your measuring and cutting is much easier. Always plan for about a ½- to 1-inch seam allowance. Following this process, cut out as many blocks of fat quarters as you need at the dimensions you need.

7. Pin your fat quarter blocks together in one long strip. Sew the blocks together on the short sides where they are pinned.

8. Iron the seams flat. Then, iron the strip on the right side as well.

9. Repeat steps 6-8 so you have two strips of fat quarters. The pattern does not need to be identical; however, the length and width should be.

10. Lay one strip flat, right side up. Match the top edge of the fat quarter strip with the top edge of the outdoor fabric. Lay the other strip of fat quarters face down on the outdoor fabric, again matching the top edges.

11. Pin along the top edge you have matched up on the three layers of fabric. Sew along the top pinned edge using a 1/2-inch seam allowance.

12. Iron both the fat quarter sides up so the wrong sides of the fabric are facing each other and the inside seam is ironed flat inside.

13. Fold the top edges of both fat quarter pieces down about 1/2 inch and iron. Match the folded edges and iron them together.

14. Grab the piece of outdoor fabric you cut. Pin the edge between the two pieces of fat quarter strips you just ironed. Match the edge of the outdoor fabric with the edge you folded in; this will give you about 1/2 inch of the outdoor fabric sandwiched between the fat quarter strips.

15. Stitch along the top of the fat quarter strips to secure the outdoor fabric between the fat quarter strips.

16. Cut the curtain to the appropriate length, adding 4 inches for seam allowance. If you have a serger, serge along the edges. If you do not have a serger, a zig-zag stitch with your sewing machine will work.

17. Fold the top piece down about 2 inches and pin. Fold and pin the other three sides, about 1/2 inch on each side. Sew along all four sides.

18. To place the grommets for the shower hooks, divide the top edge by the number of hooks and divide the space evenly. Use your ruler and a fabric marker or chalk to mark the spots for the grommets as accurately as possible.

19. Place a piece of cardboard under the fabric to avoid causing damage when cutting the holes.

20. Using your grommet kit, make holes where you marked. This likely will require you to use small scissors; embroidery scissors and thread snippers work well.

21. Place the grommets in the holes, and use a hammer to gently tap down and set the grommets.

22. Slide the curtain hooks into the holes, and set up your shower curtain. Use a clear plastic shower-curtain lining to protect your fabric curtain. To clean your curtain, slide it off the hooks and throw it in the wash.